Kolkata Test hero Bhuvneshwar Kumar has been ruled out of the third Test against New Zealand starting in Indore on Saturday due to injury.
The BCCI announced on Wednesday that Bhuvneshwar is nursing a back strain suffered during the second Test at the Eden Gardens, which India wrapped up in four day to take an unassailable 2-0 lead in the series.
Mumbai pacer Shardul Thakur, who was part of the India team on the West Indies tour, has been called up as replacement.
After not making it to the playing XI for the first Test against the Kiwis, Bhuvneshwar had made the most of his chance in the second at Kolkata which the hosts won by 178 runs to go 2-0 up in the three-match series. Bhuvi claimed five for 48 in the first innings, which gave India the cushion of a 112-run lead.
Bhuvneshwar took the place of pacer Umesh Yadav in the eleven after the team management took the seaming conditions at Eden Gardens into consideration. Yadav will most likely return in the Indore Test if Bhuvneshwar is ruled out.
Thakur has just returned from the India ‘A’ tour to Australia, where he claimed 11 wickets in three matches (two first-class games and one List A).
{{/usCountry}}Thakur has just returned from the India ‘A’ tour to Australia, where he claimed 11 wickets in three matches (two first-class games and one List A).
{{/usCountry}}Bhuvneshwar is the third casualty for Team India after the loss of openers KL Rahul and Shikhar Dhawan to injuries.